Greater than 100 folks have died and several other others stay lacking after a torrential downpour within the central Nigerian state of Niger, native authorities stated on Friday.
Floods submerged the city of Mokwa after the rains started on Wednesday night time and continued into Thursday morning. Ibrahim Audu Hussein, a spokesperson for the state emergency administration company, stated rescue efforts had been nonetheless below manner on Friday.
“We’ve got to date recovered 115 our bodies and extra are anticipated to be recovered as a result of the flood got here from far distance and washed folks into the River Niger. Downstream, our bodies are nonetheless being recovered,” Husseini informed the AFP information company. “So, the toll retains rising.”
Greater than 3,000 homes had been submerged, he added.
Mokwa, about 230 miles (370km) west of Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, is a business hub in Niger state, with many merchants and heavy-duty automobiles typically carrying items to different areas.
In Nigeria the wet season often runs from April to October. On Wednesday the Nigerian Meteorological Company had issued a forecast of heavy storms for Abuja and 14 of the nation’s 36 states together with Niger.
Niger, Nigeria’s largest state by landmass, is residence to a few main dams – Kainji, Jebba and Shiroro – which contribute considerably to the nation’s electrical energy grid. A fourth dam is below development.
The state has been liable to flooding in current occasions. In April, water launched from one of many dams destroyed greater than 5,000 farms in 30 communities, together with in Mokwa. Native information studies recommended it was the sixth flood within the state this yr.
In 2022, floods in Nigeria killed greater than 600 folks, displaced about 1.4 million and destroyed 440,000 hectares of farmland.
Specialists have warned of extra excessive climate patterns on account of world heating.
Supply hyperlink
